Red Sox 4, Pirates 3: Boston bats awaken in the eighth

Thursday

Apr 13, 2017 at 7:36 PMApr 13, 2017 at 7:38 PM

Xander Bogaerts didn't get to see the eighth-inning rallies his Red Sox put together in his absence in Detroit. But he couldn't possibly miss the latest eighth-inning rally the Red Sox put together, an outburst that lifted Boston to a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday at Fenway Park.

By Brian MacPherson / @brianmacp

BOSTON — Xander Bogaerts didn't get to see the eighth-inning rallies his Red Sox put together in his absence in Detroit.

He almost got to see one of the rallies, watching on his phone while riding in a car as Pablo Sandoval fell behind in the count against Francisco Rodriguez last Friday. He lost his connection just before Sandoval hit a Rodriguez changeup over the left-center field fence.

"I waited for it to come back and put it on, and the Red Sox were winning," he said. "I figured he hit a home run."

Bogaerts couldn't possibly miss the latest eighth-inning rally the Red Sox put together, an outburst that lifted Boston to a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday at Fenway Park.

He was right in the middle of it.

After a Hanley Ramirez triple to center field scored two runs to tie the game, Bogaerts stayed on a 97-mile-per-hour fastball from Juan Nicasio to drive Ramirez home from third with the go-ahead run.

As a team, the Red Sox are slugging a collective .610 in the eighth inning this season. They've scored 10 eighth-inning runs, more than they've scored in the first three innings of games combined. The outburst ruined a one-game stop the Pirates had to make in Boston, the rescheduled third game of last week's season-opening series.

"We just have to keep doing what we're doing — grinding," said Mitch Moreland, who hit his team-best eighth double in the second inning. "It makes for a tough game sometimes when we're having to score in the seventh and eighth to get ahead, but I'll take those, too."

"We were able to find a way," Boston manager John Farrell said.

For much of the afternoon, Pittsburgh righty Chad Kuhl rendered Red Sox hitters about as quiet as if they'd taken the day off as scheduled. Kuhl struck out six and didn't issue a walk in 6 1/3 innings pitched, and the only run he allowed came after the Moreland daily double in the second inning. Moreland hit his eighth double in his last seven games and then scored when Marco Hernandez hit a line drive off the Green Monster. Kuhl then set down 15 of the next 16 hitters he faced.

Boston lefty Eduardo Rodriguez struck out eight and walked four in 5 1/3 innings pitched. The only one of those walks that really hurt him came in the first inning, a walk to Jordy Mercer that preceded a fastball down the middle to Andrew McCutchen. Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez had set up on the outside corner, but the pitch ran back over the middle of the plate. McCutchen hit it over the Green Monster for his first home run of the season.

After that, however, Rodriguez managed to stay out of the middle of the strike zone enough to avoid hard contact.

The top of the Boston batting order ignited the rally in the top of the eighth, the same inning in which they'd rallied twice against Detroit last weekend. Dustin Pedroia drew a walk and Andrew Benintendi singled off Daniel Hudson, and Mookie Betts drew a four-pitch walk off Nicasio.

Ramirez then smoked a triple to center field — a hit that briefly appeared to have put the Red Sox ahead until a replay review showed that Pittsburgh catcher Chris Stewart had tagged out Betts just before he crossed the plate, a split-second after Benintendi had scored.

With the game tied, Pittsburgh intentionally walked Moreland to bring up Bogaerts.

Bogaerts missed the entire four-game series in Detroit on bereavement leave, attending a funeral in his native Aruba. He was supposed to join the Red Sox on Monday, but his flight out of Aruba was canceled. He went hitless on Tuesday, his first game back, but he drew a walk and scored a run. He then singled three times on Wednesday and twice more Thursday.

"The first day back was tough," he said. "Yesterday I was a bit jumpy. Today I was a bit more relaxed compared to the other days. It's just a timing thing going now."

With the count 1-1, Bogaerts swung through a Nicasio fastball on the outside corner. He suspected Nicasio might come back with a similar pitch and geared up for it.

"I had no chance on that fastball," he said. "I tried to be more ready for it if he came with it again."

Nicasio obliged — and he even worked it farther off the plate, making it tougher to hit. Bogaerts got his body out in front of his bat but still got his barrel to the ball, smacking it to right field to score Ramirez.

"A patented swing by Bogey that we've seen so many times, that basehit into right field," Farrell said. "It was a beautiful swing on his part."

Brian MacPherson writes for the Providence Journal of GateHouse Media.

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